This class offers a survey of the films produced during the last hundred years in South Korea. In order to better understand the resurgence of Korean films in recent years and the critical acclaim that they received domestically and globally, the course will examine representative films, directors, and genres from the inception of the industry in the colonial era through the recent years. Through the screening and in-depth discussions of the films, students will gain insights into the larger historical, social, and cultural contexts that informed and shaped the production and consumption of the films. This course, therefore, will explore the history of Korean cinema through the framework of national/transnational cinema discourse, auteur/genre theory, globalization, the division system, and the problem of nation/state. While working through different genres of historical drama, melodrama, literary adaptation, horror, mystery, and monster films, we will discuss topics pertaining to family, sexuality, gender, cultural tradition, national identity, social movement, and urbanization. We will also pay particular attention to the production of films and the role of censorship, and how artistic assertion and negotiation are reflected in their final cut.

Syllabi are available to current LSA students. IMPORTANT: These syllabi are provided to give students a general idea about the courses, as offered by LSA departments and programs in prior academic terms. The syllabi do not necessarily reflect the assignments, sequence of course materials, and/or course expectations that the faculty and departments/programs have for these same courses in the current and/or future terms.